Cause every single story
Is a story about love
Both the overflowing cup
And the painful lack thereof
You got the heart of a dove

But you play in the street at night
Blown just like a broken kite
My girl, you're giving up the fight
You'll have to lose all them childish notions
If you're gonna let these American boys
Put another dent in your life

You play in the street at night
Blown just like a broken kite
My girl, you're giving up the fight
You'll have to lose all them childish notions
Are you gonna let these Americans
Put another dent in your life?

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About “40 Mark Strasse”

James Mercer’s dad was in the Air Force and he lived in Germany when he was younger. “40 Mark Strasse” was a nickname for a two-lane highway (Bundesstrasse 40) that ran between Kaiserslautern and Landstuhl, both of which had large American military populations. Prostitutes — some young, some not so young — used to streetwalk along the side of the road, and the rumor was that 40 Deutsche marks was enough to get you some action. This song, I take it, is his plea to one of those girls to give up what she was doing and get her life back on track.